Disclaimer: Ask and you shall receive.

A/N: Thank-you oh so very much for your reviews. Okay, part II of chapter 10. ^-^ Glad you got this far w/out dying on me. =P Oh, very odd to write while listening to "Happy Ending" by Mika.

P.S. Sowwy for the late update! I got Fable 2, Left 4 Dead, Army of Two, Mirror's Edge, Gears 2, and Fall Out 3 for Christmas sooo…

P.S.S. Sowwy if it ain't that good. I was kinda like low on sugar, so… oh and the next chapter is better! So hopefully that makes up for this one. =P

::-:SGA:-::

Chapter 10 Part II: Too Damn Stupid

The soft chinking of tools and the occasional curse slurred in French were the only noise that broke the usual dead silence of the Ancient facility. It had been like this for the past three hours, ever since Teyla had passed on.

So far, McKay was having no luck with the machine nor any of the consoles. His frustration showed more and more as he tried to figure out how it worked and how to reverse it.

Sheppard sat as far away from the coat covered corpse of his friend, his knees hugged to his chest and his chin gently wresting on wrapped arms. Next to him, Ronon lay silently sleeping. The Satedan child had settled down two and half hours ago and promptly fell asleep. Sheppard looked down to his friend, almost smiling at how deep the larger boy could sleep. Ronon never moved, just stayed curled up like that.

Sighing, Sheppard kept watching the boy as his mind wandered through the past days' events. He smiled at remembering how reluctant McKay had been to take care of them at first, but seemed to want nothing else as the day grew older. Watching the sunset that first day was perfect and Sheppard wished the four of them could do it again. Though, he wasn't stupid. He knew Teyla was gone and that nothing would ever be the same.

It was kind of eerie thinking about returning to Atlantis without the Athosian by his side as they stepped through the event horizon. Things were going to be awkward for a while after this, and Sheppard only hoped everything could go back to normal soon.

As it was, Sheppard didn't even know how long they'd been down here other than what McKay told him. And Sheppard didn't dare interrupt the scientist as he worked on the machines, not unless he desperately needed to know something. McKay was deft in his work and only if you knew the man as Sheppard did would you see that this facility was getting the better of him.

Sighing, Sheppard looked up to where his friend was. The boy could barely see past the pedestals in front of him, but he could just make out McKay's legs, the only part of the scientist not deeply embedded into the console.

Closing his eyes as another wave of dizziness came over him, Sheppard tried not to focus on the fact that his vision was blurry, his body ached, and his stomach felt like it was tumbling down a hill. He had grown considerably sicker and sicker with each passing minute. It had started shortly after Ronon fell asleep and had grown almost unbearable when he stopped trying to use the radio an hour ago. Now he could barely keep himself sitting, but he didn't want to voice his concerns. After all, it wasn't near time for him to die yet.

Ronon was still alive, and although it disturbed him to think of it this way, Sheppard knew his body wouldn't fail completely until after the larger boy's passing. But McKay's going to have it all fixed before then, Sheppard thought to himself, ignoring the sudden knot that had formed in his stomach. He always fixes it just in time. Sheppard then hugged his knees closer to his chest, suddenly not feeling as safe as he should've.

Looking back down to the Satedan curled up next to him, Sheppard thought his friend lucky to be able to sleep through all of this. Sheppard didn't think he would be able to take a nap while the weight of death was ever pressing down on him. Ronon had seemed too frightened earlier. Reflecting not only his own fears, but the ones of Sheppard as well, into those tearing eyes. How did the Satedan manage to push those from his mind long enough to fall asleep?

Scrunching up his face in scrutiny at his friend, Sheppard just stared at Ronon. Then a cold hit Sheppard like a slap to the face and the boy knew something was wrong. The sudden urge to wake up Ronon overwhelmed his sickness, and Sheppard uncurled from himself and placed a hand on the Satedan's shoulder.

"Ronon? Ronon! Ronon, wake up!"

But Ronon didn't stir.

Shaking his friend, Sheppard continued to call as his stomach knotted and twisted horribly. "Ronon! RONON!"

Sheppard pushed the boy onto his back and stared down at the still features of the Satedan's face. Fear gripped him as he realized how cold Ronon was beneath his touch, and Sheppard didn't even struggle as someone pushed him aside and touched two fingers to the child's neck.

Sheppard sat there dumbly on the floor, his arms on either side shaking as they struggled to keep him up. Damn, when did I get so weak? Sheppard's eyes were unfocused and barely took in the site of McKay leaning of Ronon with his head bowed. Then those pale blue eyes looked away from the still child and turned to him. In McKay's eyes, Sheppard saw what he had feared… Ronon had passed on.

Taking in a sharp breath, Sheppard felt suddenly cold and alone in the silent facility. He closed his eyes as the grief of loosing yet another friend crept into his heart and mind, consuming him.

Sheppard let out a strangled sob, not fully crying and yet unable to keep calm. Then the cold was brushed away as warm arms wrapped around his body and picked him up. Not thinking, Sheppard gripped McKay's shirt blindly in tiny fists and pressed his face hard against the scientist's chest, letting out all his fears.

::-:SGA:-::

McKay didn't dare let go of the boy strapped to chest. He was afraid of loosing the child, just like he had lost Teyla and now Ronon. The Satedan had obviously died in his sleep, at least spared the frightful and taxing last moments awake as his body failed.

McKay briefly wondered if the Satedan people believed in an after life or even worshipped a god. He really didn't remember Ronon mentioning anything about it, and it appeared as if the Satedan people valued the honor of their soldier's more than anything.

Carrying Sheppard in his hands, McKay realized he would never know now. And why? Because he had been too late once again. Too late to fix the problem, too late to help, too damn stupid to save a child, a friend. All he could do was watch, wait, and comfort the living.

Now, he didn't even know how much time Sheppard had left. Ronon's body was frighteningly cold and he could've died up to two and a half hours ago.

Shivering, McKay stepped over the boy's body and started heading back for the console he had been working on. The "guts" of the machine hung out over the opened edge, squiggling like strewn spaghetti. Red, blue, green, yellow, white, all different colors. McKay cursed the Ancients at that moment, for he had gotten no closer to saving anyone since he had begun working.

Placing Sheppard down gently next to the torn up console, the scientist crouched before the still whimpering boy. Cupping his friend's face with one hand, McKay wiped away some of the stray tears with his thumb. Something he had done to Teyla only forty-eight hours ago. The simple touch seemed to help Sheppard calm down a bit.

"Hey now, it's okay… it's okay. I'm gonna figure this out and I'm gonna turn you back. Alright? I'm not gonna give up until I figure it out," well, he sure as hell wasn't reassured by that and by the looks of it, neither was Sheppard.

The boy still shivered and sniffled back tears as he sat on the stone floor before him. However, Sheppard seemed to calm a little and tried his best at a smile, but it came out as a grimace instead.

Patting Sheppard on the arm gently, McKay moved back to working on the console. Although there was little hope for it.

Cursing the Ancients for the umpteenth time and settling back into position, McKay went over everything he had learned about the piece of engineering. Apparently, the designers liked fooling with people and leading them into traps, because the color of the wires weren't even remotely connected to what they did. A power cable could be red, while another just like it was bright pink.

Then there was the fact that most of the wires were fake, strung up like streamers just to make the whole thing look complicated when it was probably quite simple underneath. Half of the wires ended in a glob of glue against the inside of the panel or were hooked up to unnecessary parts. One such wire almost made the scientist laugh, if not for his frustrated anger, because it seemed to power an automated cup holder which popped out of the wall.

Yet the faulty wiring was not the only thing wrong with the console, oh no the Ancients would not stop there with their little tricks. Most of the crystals were shot, fake, unnecessary, or draining too much power.

Put all three together and it was a scientist's worst nightmare. Nothing could be figured out and only the blatantly obvious functions could be accessed with the little amount of information the facility had allowed McKay's laptop to download. As far as McKay was concerned, the whole thing was a floop. He wasn't sure that even if he had an entire science team with him that he could figure out how to reverse the effects of the pedestals in less than three months.

Still, he had to try to figure something out. He had already lost two teammates and he was now more determined than ever to save the last. To save his best friend and leader, John Sheppard.

…

"I don't feel so good," Sheppard whispered, his body pitching forward from the wall. McKay moved quicker than he thought he could, catching the small body of the boy in his arms right before his friend crashed to the hard floor. "I don't… I…" Sheppard's voice was weak and small and McKay had to strain to hear as he tried to tell him what was wrong.

"It's okay it's okay you're okay you're okay," McKay panicked, kneeling on the floor and cradling Sheppard in his arms. He never thought the colonel could look so small, feel so light. Supporting his friend's head in the crook of his arm, McKay found his eyes scanning the boy up and down as he lay limply in his arms. Everything was going wrong, oh so wrong. He hadn't been able to figure anything out in the past few hours, only more useless history on the device streamed into his laptop. Now, he was afraid he had been too slow.

"Sorry," Sheppard whispered, bringing McKay's thoughts back to the boy quite literally dying in his arms. "Sorry… I thought… I could hang on," Sheppard's soft words came between gasps for air, just like Teyla's had. "Thought… thought I…"

"Hey, you know, you did your best," McKay said, feeling a knot growing in his stomach and a false smile very much trying to part on his lips. "Besides, I should be the one… you know, to… I wasn't fast enough."

Sheppard's eyes squinted in confusion before relaxing back to only being half closed. God he looked exhausted. "No… you did your… best. Remember… I said you'd fix… this. Somehow… I think… Teyla was right… It feels like… I have to go." Sheppard took in another long, ragged breath, trying to keep his body working until he got to say his goodbye. McKay would have none of it though.

"No, no, no, this isn't how it works!" the scientist held back from yelling, but he desperately wanted to. "We're here, I'm here, I've got to figure it out! I can fix this, I can. There's still time, you're still okay, they're still okay-"

"McKay," Sheppard smiled a little as the man instantly shut up, "You're rambling." McKay's eyes widened with audacity for a second, then a short laugh came from the man and a snort of amusement.

Shaking his head, McKay pulled the boy closer to his chest, he could feel the small tremors racing through his friend's body as he tried to fight for life. He had been too late, he knew that. Sheppard was going to die right here, right now. It was all going to end, right there, right then. The past few years seemed to have happened for naught. Every mission, every new encounter, every memory burned in McKay's heart and he caught his tears before they fell.

"That was a Hail Mary!"

"This is why parents get someone else to teach their kids how to drive."

"Way to survive what may be my worst nightmare."

"Yes, Rodney, I shot you, and I said I was sorry."

"In a way a friend feels about another friend."

"He asked me to trust him."

"Crap," Rodney looked down at the source of the small squeak. Sheppard was looking up at him, a sly grin on his face. McKay furrowed his brow at this, pursing his lips as he thought what on Earth had prompted the grin. Sheppard just let out a short laugh, his body shaking with the effort, "You're crying."

McKay pulled his head back and blinked a few times, recognizing the wet on his cheeks for the fist time. He was crying, and he hadn't even realized it. Settling Sheppard further into the crook of his arm, McKay released one hand on his friend and bunched up the sleeve of his long shirt. Rubbing his eyes, McKay offered up a soft apology. "Sorry, didn't mean to."

"It's okay… wish I could… just… take care of yourself," with that, Sheppard buried his face into the man's chest, his arm coming up and gripping onto the front of McKay's shirt as tightly as he could. The scientist looked down, watching as small hands curled into a fist, stretching the blue material of the shirt. Then, the fingers relaxed, the hand fell, and Sheppard lay still in his arms.

Biting his lip, trying to force himself to hold back, McKay leaned forward, pulling Sheppard's body close, and began rocking the boy back in forth as his body trembled, fighting the grief that took hold of his heart. Holding the boy close, McKay ignored the bright light that enveloped the room.

::-:TBC:-::

Next, the conclusion...